Throughout the season of Lent, our Central Presbyterian community engaged with intentional spiritual practices in a variety of ways, including at Lenten Devotional booklet written by Central members. In talking with members of our church community, these practices all shared a focus on drawing closer to God.
Multiple people mentioned taking this season to engage with Central’s church library. Amy Pantzer enjoyed reading Lent for Everyone by N.T. Wright, which focuses on the gospel of Mark. Faith Osten checked out Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis. Faith appreciated how Lewis “[talks] through his own struggles interpreting the psalms . . . and how he comes to an understanding of them that is consistent with scripture and who Christ is.” In particular, Faith said Lewis’s approach to tackling some of the psalms that are harder to wrestle with through a Christian lens resonated with her. She was struck by the way that “God used and still uses the brokenness of his people . . . to tell his message.” This Lent experience was helpful in fostering a fresh mindset through which to interpret scripture.
For many in our church community, Lent is not a practice they grew up with. For others, exposure to Lent as a child may have involved giving something up without connecting the practice to a deeper relationship with God. However, those interviewed agreed that the practice of giving something up for Lent is more meaningful when chosen with the goal of growing one’s spiritual life. Amy described how she has honed her approach to Lent over the years. This year, her choice to give up social media was purposeful. Amy said, “I’ve tried to think of something that’s becoming too important in my life and take that away . . . as a reset. . . It gives more time to focus on God.”
Lent also provides opportunities for families to engage in spiritual practices together. Amy Pantzer recommended a series of devotional books by Arnold Ytreeide. His books focus on stories with young central characters who are experiencing moments from the Bible, including both Advent and Easter stories. These can be read together over the course of several weeks, and each week’s reading ends in a cliffhanger.
Elizabeth ter Hasborg and her son Jannes also participated in Lenten practices together. Having recently moved to Baltimore, Elizabeth described that she has still been settling into the changes that come with a new move and had not originally planned to give something up for Lent this year. However, when her son Jannes wanted to give something up, she wanted to support him and participate in this practice together. Jannes decided to give up chips, which was a favorite evening snack. He described that this was difficult at first, but every time he thought of having chips, it reminded him of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Jannes plans to continue this Lenten practice in future years by evaluating what is important to him each year when choosing what to give up for Lent. Elizabeth gave up chocolate and wine, with a goal of keeping her focus beyond herself during this spiritual season.
Elizabeth also valued the impact of the Ash Wednesday service as a way to open the season of Lent. Like many in our congregation, Elizabeth did not grow up in a church with an Ash Wednesday service. She described that this service was an impactful “reminder that this is a time of self-introspection” that helps to put the “hope of Easter into perspective.” She also found it a helpful reminder that there is a place for mourning and sacrifice and valued the “experience of going through a valley” in this spiritual season of Lent.
At Central, there were also opportunities to lean in and engage together as a community through the Soup & Group series, which had an average of sixty attendees per week and facilitated many new connections.
Finally, this season provided opportunities to deepen one’s prayer through the Lenten prayer room. Stations like those in the prayer room provide a contemplative setting and guided prompts for prayer, leading to unexpected encounters with God. In total, at least 100 people engaged with a station in the prayer room that invited us to contemplate the burdens that we carry, and approximately seventy-five anonymous prayer requests were posted on the wall.
